America

There are very little America fans, but this one is worth to mention. This is the extraordinary fan in the political history collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. The fan itself is an impressive object, made of ornate aluminum blades and folds of painted silk. The blades are cast with openwork, filigree, and chasing, each ending with an eight-pointed star, the top and bottom blades having elongated points. The metal features eagles, stars, and violet are very special, but their impression is the striking decorations of the silk and attached paper. Glued to each side of the nine interior blades is a small oval photograph of a woman. There are seven pictures in the upper leaf, tell us entire story of a political activity. The fan made in about 1866.





Figure 11, Fan, ca.1866 aluminum, silk and paper.